Cracks seem to be emerging in Anwar’s PKR
Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali on Friday questioned the letter sent by PKR president to the Sultan of Selangor on the candidate for the state’s chief minister.
Melisa Goh, Channel News Asia
Cracks appear to be emerging in opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).
On Friday, PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali openly challenged the top leadership’s decision to reappoint former Menteri Besar of Selangor, Khalid Ibrahim, for another term.
At a packed news conference at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Mr Azmin Ali questioned the letter sent by PKR president Wan Azizah to the Sultan of Selangor on Khalid Ibrahim’s candidacy for Selangor Menteri Besar.
This was even though the choice was endorsed by PKR’s two allies — DAP and PAS – and that a formal letter of appointment had already been sent to the Sultan of Selangor.
Mr Azmin Ali, flanked by his supporters, made no secret that he is gunning to helm Selangor — Malaysia’s richest and most industrialised state.
He said: “Aspiring for political office is no crime, and indeed a good motivation for anyone entering politics, provided, and that is the most important proviso, that the reason for taking such office is to serve the people better, and more effectively, nothing more, nothing less.”
The 48-year-old was once seen as the blue-eyed boy of PKR de-facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.
Mr Azmin Ali claims he and all 14 newly elected PKR state assemblymen were not consulted on the choice of Selangor Menteri Besar.
“I did not question the decision of PAS-DAP on the candidate for Menteri Besar but I am concerned about the letter sent to the palace without first consulting with other state assemblymen in PKR, which is one of the three components of Pakatan Rakyat,” he said.
Mr Azmin Ali claimed that he has the support of the grassroots.
“It was unanimous support. I served him (Anwar Ibrahim) in the government for 13 years, and he was in jail for 8 years — 21 years (in total). And he has been released for the last what, since 2004. I mean, I have been so loyal to him,” he said.
Visibly disappointed by the leadership’s decision, Mr Azmin Ali also warned against nepotism taking root in the party — a direct reference to Mr Anwar and his family.
Political analysts keenly watching the development in PKR say a potentially damaging fallout is imminent if Mr Azmin Ali does not get his way.
For now, Mr Azmin Ali is staying on as the party number two, and many are not ruling out him making a direct bid for party presidency at the upcoming party polls.
Separately, Dr Farish Noor from the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore told Channel NewsAsia that the timing of the PKR cracks is unfortunate.
“Obviously those who are watching the coalition and in particular, Anwar Ibrahim’s party PKR, are worried that this is actually a sign of further schisms to come. There’s a lot of speculation that some of the key leaders of the party may be abandoning Anwar Ibrahim very soon,” said Dr Farish.
Dr Farish also shared his thoughts on Anwar’s reaction to the May 5 poll results.
He said: “It has to be noted that in a sense the Pakatan Rakyat has gained. The number of seats that the opposition coalition has won has increased. They are also better represented in the state of Selangor where they have won more state assembly seats. So frankly, I’m not entirely certain as to why so many of the opposition supporters seem disappointed because it’s actually been a net gain for them.
“We look at Kelantan and Penang, and we can see that the PAS-dominated state government in Kelantan and the DAP-dominated state government of Penang have gone about their business in beginning to govern the two states but in Selangor, there are these rifts still emerging and I think that it’s highly problematic that all the divisions seem to be coming from one party, namely the PKR.”
